# Behind the Stays Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810.md RSS feed: https://feed.podbean.com/behindthestays/feed.xml Official site: https://www.behindthestays.com/ Author: Zach Busekrus Episodes: 368 ## Resource Welcome to Behind the Stays — a podcast that shares the stories behind your favorite boutique hotels, short-term rentals, and hospitality brands and the hosts, operators, and entrepreneurs who’ve brought them to life. Every Tuesday and Friday you’ll meet the military veterans, retired flight attendants, tech entrepreneurs, school teachers, single moms, hoteliers, and real estate investors who are all, in their unique ways, shaping the future of travel and hospitality. Discover how these visionaries — from all over the world — have built stunning landscape hotels in the mountains, designed bohemian bungalows on the beach, erected eclectic off-grid and nature-immersed escapes, and so much more. Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. And I’m your host, Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. Alright friends, enjoy the show! ## Machine-readable JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/behind-the-stays-3506810 Markdown: https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810.md ## Episodes - [Why Luxury Hospitality Is Optimizing Itself Into Irrelevance — And What To Do About It (with Colin Nagy)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/why-luxury-hospitality-is-optimizing-itself-into-irrelevance-and-what-to-do-about-it-with-colin-nagy) — 2026-07-21T13:00:07+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: How Norwegian Air Went Viral for Losing, Should Airbnb and Ennismore Hook Up? and the Slow Death of Organic Discovery on Vrbo](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-how-norwegian-air-went-viral-for-losing-should-airbnb-and-ennismore-hook-up-and-the-slow-death-of-organic-discovery-on-vrbo) — 2026-07-17T14:50:06+00:00 - [How Cloudbeds Is Shaping the Future of Independent Hospitality with Their New Partnership with Journey](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/how-cloudbeds-is-shaping-the-future-of-independent-hospitality-with-their-new-partnership-with-journey) — 2026-07-14T10:00:00+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: Ideas, Stories, and Hot Takes with James McBride, Co-Founder & CEO of NIHI Hotels](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-ideas-stories-and-hot-takes-with-james-mcbride-co-founder-ceo-of-nihi-hotels) — 2026-07-10T17:05:56+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: Airbnb Founder's Secret AI Lab, Bass Pro's $300M Resort Bet & The Economy Hotel Franchise Revolt](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-airbnb-founder-s-secret-ai-lab-bass-pro-s-300m-resort-bet-the-economy-hotel-franchise-revolt) — 2026-07-03T05:33:45+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: Pali Society Goes Bonvoy, Hilton's Incubating 5 New Brands, and Hot Takes with Skift's Hospitality Editor, Sean O'Neil](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-pali-society-goes-bonvoy-hilton-s-incubating-5-new-brands-and-hot-takes-with-skift-s-hospitality-editor-sean-o-neil) — 2026-06-26T11:28:50+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: CoStar’s Forecast Reversal, Marriott Hits 10K Hotels, and Amsterdam’s Tourist Tax Revolt](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-costar-s-forecast-reversal-marriott-hits-10k-hotels-and-amsterdam-s-tourist-tax-revolt) — 2026-06-19T10:56:06+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: The Airbnb-Marriott Deal That Almost Happened, MGM Goes Private(?), Journey & Cloudbeds Partner, & What Premium Travelers Want](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-the-airbnb-marriott-deal-that-almost-happened-mgm-goes-private-journey-cloudbeds-partner-what-premium-travelers-want) — 2026-06-12T15:11:36+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: Sonder's Founder is Back, Hyatt's New Growth Strategy, The Human Concierge Book, and L.E/Miami Recap](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-sonder-s-founder-is-back-hyatt-s-new-growth-strategy-the-human-concierge-book-and-l-e-miami-recap) — 2026-06-05T10:15:43+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: The Uber-Hotel Hookup, Expedia Optimizes for AI Agents, and Why Americans Are Skipping Europe](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-the-uber-hotel-hookup-expedia-optimizes-for-ai-agents-and-why-americans-are-skipping-europe) — 2026-05-29T07:26:37+00:00 - [How an Engineer-Turned-Michelin-Chef Built Epicurate, the Experience Platform for Luxury Stays](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/how-an-engineer-turned-michelin-chef-built-epicurate-the-experience-platform-for-luxury-stays) — 2026-05-13T14:49:41+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: The World Cup Bust, Spirit's Collapse, Priceline is Back, and Aman's Move in the Texas Hill Country](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-the-world-cup-bust-spirit-s-collapse-priceline-is-back-and-aman-s-move-in-the-texas-hill-country) — 2026-05-08T07:28:35+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: Uber Becomes a Hotel Platform, TikTok Outperforms OTAs, and Hotels Still Don’t Own the Customer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-uber-becomes-a-hotel-platform-tiktok-outperforms-otas-and-hotels-still-don-t-own-the-customer) — 2026-05-01T12:12:10+00:00 - [He DJ'd for Jay-Z and Kanye — Now He's Rewiring Sound for Aman, Hyatt, and Jose Andrés](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/he-dj-d-for-jay-z-and-kanye-now-he-s-rewiring-sound-for-aman-hyatt-and-jose-andr-s) — 2026-04-28T12:32:06+00:00 - [This Week In Hospitality: Hospitality’s Muddy Middle Is Breaking — With Bashar Wali](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-hospitality-s-muddy-middle-is-breaking-with-bashar-wali) — 2026-04-24T10:00:00+00:00 - [Inside the Vrbo Where George Washington Stayed — and the Operator Turning Savannah Into a Historic Luxury Destination](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/inside-the-vrbo-where-george-washington-stayed-and-the-operator-turning-savannah-into-a-historic-luxury-destination) — 2026-04-21T14:33:47+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: The Hotel Owner Squeeze, Six Senses Founder's Comeback, Wyndham's Grandma Gambit, and Coachella's Dirty Secret](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-the-hotel-owner-squeeze-six-senses-founder-s-comeback-wyndham-s-grandma-gambit-and-coachella-s-dirty-secret) — 2026-04-17T10:08:08+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: Why Direct Booking Isn’t Working, Hyatt’s Miss, and the New Rules of Demand](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-why-direct-booking-isn-t-working-hyatt-s-miss-and-the-new-rules-of-demand) — 2026-04-10T10:00:00+00:00 - [How a Health Crisis, a Divorce, and a Thai Monk Led Her to Create the #1 Spa in the World: Meet Diana Stobo of The Retreat Costa Rica](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/how-a-health-crisis-a-divorce-and-a-thai-monk-led-her-to-create-the-1-spa-in-the-world-meet-diana-stobo-of-the-retreat-costa-rica) — 2026-04-07T11:16:42+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: The Death of Hotel Discovery, The Rise of Food-Led Hotels, and Loyalty’s Identity Crisis](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-the-death-of-hotel-discovery-the-rise-of-food-led-hotels-and-loyalty-s-identity-crisis) — 2026-04-03T08:27:20+00:00 - [This Week In Hospitality: Hilton’s New Power Play, Marriott’s Brand Explosion, and the Battle for Who Owns Demand](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-hilton-s-new-power-play-marriott-s-brand-explosion-and-the-battle-for-who-owns-demand) — 2026-03-27T12:23:53+00:00 - [He Built the Most Iconic Cocktail Bar of a Generation. Now Death&Co's Founder is Coming for Boutique Hotels.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/he-built-the-most-iconic-cocktail-bar-of-a-generation-now-death-co-s-founder-is-coming-for-boutique-hotels) — 2026-03-25T04:30:26+00:00 - [This Week In Hospitality: The Hotel Restaurant Comeback, Hyatt’s Big Pivot, Rosewood Rumors, and a Brutal Outdoor Hospitality Reality Check](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-the-hotel-restaurant-comeback-hyatt-s-big-pivot-rosewood-rumors-and-a-brutal-outdoor-hospitality-reality-check) — 2026-03-20T08:00:49+00:00 - [Why a Marketing Executive at Accor Became the CEO of a Luxury Villa Brand — Meet Scott Wiseman of Nocturne Luxury Villas](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/why-a-marketing-executive-at-accor-became-the-ceo-of-a-luxury-villa-brand-meet-scott-wiseman-of-nocturne-luxury-villas) — 2026-03-17T09:31:40+00:00 - [This Week in Hospitality: War, The Claude Effect, Too Many Hotel Brands & Kimpton’s Big Test](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-war-the-claude-effect-too-many-hotel-brands-kimpton-s-big-test) — 2026-03-06T13:15:53+00:00 - [From Developing Aman to Building The Stanza: How Nadine Choe Built a Media Brand Where Taste Is the Moat](https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/from-developing-aman-to-building-the-stanza-how-nadine-choe-built-a-media-brand-where-taste-is-the-moat) — 2026-03-03T06:19:28+00:00 ## Actions Episode pages expose an explicit `request_transcript` action. 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